Big Creek Lake's clear water provides great family swimming fun. Refreshments are available at the beach during the swimming season. A large wooden...
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Doolittle Prairie State Preserve is located in the Des Moines Lobe region and contains a native tallgrass prairie remnant dotted with seasonal mars...
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Strasser Woods State Preserve contains a 40-acre tract of forest within the city limits of Des Moines. Joseph and Elizabeth Strasser, who had owned...
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History
The wildlife and plant communities are interwoven with the human history of Ledges. Humans have appreciated this unique area for thousands...
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Walnut Woods encompasses 260 acres of wooded bottomland along the Raccoon River. Within the park lies a large surviving natural stand of black waln...
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Banner Lakes at Summerset State Park, Iowa’s newest state park, is nestled in the rolling landscape between Des Moines and Indianola on Highw...
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Marietta Sand Prairie is a 17-acre preserve featuring aeolian (windblown) sand deposits and a sand prairie. It is located seven miles northwest of ...
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Pilot Mound State Forest contains a mound that was used by the city of Pilot Mound as a natural water tower. The top of this mound is the county's ...
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Woodland Mounds State Preserve is a 185-acre area featuring a group of five conical burial mounds dating from the years a.d. 400 to 1100. It is loc...
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Lake ActivitiesThe lake at Badger Creek is by far the most popular natural resource, and thus fishing is the most popular form of recreation. The l...
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A 115-acre man-made lake has a large sandy beach and offers unsupervised swimming. Boats, canoes, kayaks, and paddleboats are available for rent th...
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Kish-Ke-Kosh Prairie State Preserve consists mainly of upland prairie, which is recovering from being grazed in the past. It's main upland prairie ...
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Facilities and ActivitiesPicnicking/Shelters/LodgePine Lake offers 4 beautiful picnic areas. One is a quiet river setting near Pine Creek on the ea...
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At over 6,000 acres, Brushy Creek is one of Iowa's largest tracts of public outdoor recreation land. Visitors can get a real sense of being "away f...
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Brushy Creek State Preserve is located in Brushy Creek Recreation Area, a 6,500-acre public area in Webster County located twenty miles southeast o...
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This 122 acre state preserve may be accessed through Tower Rock, Fallen Rock Wildlife Area or the Iowa River. The property has many unique at...
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Elk Rock State Park is located on Lake Red Rock, one of Iowa's large impoundments. The area had been inhabited by Native Americans dating back more...
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Facilities and ActivitiesPicnicking/Shelters/LodgeThe two lodges at Dolliver, built during the 1930's, may be rented for day use. They are ideal fo...
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